Coach Ehrlich is one of the few Larned high school alumni who has come back to help the next generation grow into respectable adults. She contributes to this goal by being a girls basketball and summer weights coach.
In the summer of 2023, Jackie started coaching and helping out with the summer weights program, and she has done a tremendous job rebuilding the program and truly helps students get to their lifting goals. During an interview with Ayesha Yeager, she stated “I think Jackie was a great addition to the Larned summer weights program. Before we didn’t have a female coach in the weight room, so I can see how that would be uncomfortable for most girls. Jackie came in with tons of knowledge about lifting and just knew a lot about what to do in the weight room. She has definitely helped me tremendously with form and improving my performance.” It will be exciting to see how many girls will join summer weights in the future now that they have the knowledge and the feeling of security when going to improve their minds and bodies.
This past fall, Jackie was interviewed on the popular workout training podcast “Mind Pump” Coach Ehrlich stated, “I connected the podcast crew and asked what they recommended for young student athletes, and after we went back and forth for a little while and I asked if they could give the girls a shout-out, but he asked how about we interview you instead.” After the interview, the podcast owner informed Coach Ehrlich that if there was anything that she or the school needed she could feel free to reach out whenever. She took this opportunity to talk about how the high school weight room is in need of suspension trainers, and the podcast crew immediately made plans to send over new, high-quality suspension trainers to better both the summer weightlifters and the students of Larned High School.
Along with being a great weights coach, Coach Ehrlich has also influenced the girls basketball program. The win/loss record of the games this season alone has been more than double it has been in past years. This is because of how the environment they practice in has changed. It is clear to see that the coaches this year have raised their expectations for the players and by doing this, the team as a whole has improved enormously. When asked what her favorite part of being a coach was, she stated “I like the opportunity to have contact with the girls. It is fun to watch them grow and learn” […]“ It isn’t just basketball that we are teaching, but emotional maturity, decision making, and more life lessons.” We hope to see the girls basketball team make more improvements as the season continues.
With all of this considered, Larned is very lucky to have Jackie not only as a coach but also as a role model for students and athletes.
